I see reason for optimism beyond this season. I think Lowry is better than he is playing now. The Lowry that started the year (3 games is a small sample but also based on previous 2 seasons) is the Lowry I hope returns to Toronto soon. Then add in another quality big and the Raptors are looking good. If Gay can find his 3pt stroke (not to mention Fields), the Raptors are looking very good. His struggles shooting perplexes me because he does have such a nice stroke.

If Gay and Derozan can improve their shooting (or shot selection), I see this making it to the playoffs next year.

There is no question in my mind this current team is a playoff team next year. If this team was together since the start of the year, they would be in the playoffs in my opinion. First round exits are hardly anything to brag about or get excited about.... well, maybe for a Raptors fan but hopefully you know what I mean.

There is no question in my mind this current team is a playoff team next year. If this team was together since the start of the year, they would be in the playoffs in my opinion. First round exits are hardly anything to brag about or get excited about.... well, maybe for a Raptors fan but hopefully you know what I mean.

Yep, but the first goal is to get this team to the playoffs and give them that first hand experience, even if it a 5 game first round exit. Look at the Pacers and what it took for them to be an elite team in the east. Playoff experience can do wonders to a young squad the following year.

I think there's no question barring any serious injuries that this is a playoff calibre team. The goal should be to become more then that in the upcoming years though. I hope we can atleast become more then a first round exit team in the coming years.

Paul George is definitely better than him right now. George is one of the better all around players in the league but is still underrated. Keep in mind with granger gone the majority of those wins have been credited to paul George

But to the thread. Raptors are 100% a playoff team. Too bad they became one too late to make the playoffs this season.

Rudy Gay probably is a better talent than Paul George (if it weren't for stupid snubs, Gay would have two all-star nods [2011 & 2012]). BUT, going from this year, I would say George is the better player, so let me re-make my list.

Yep, but the first goal is to get this team to the playoffs and give them that first hand experience, even if it a 5 game first round exit. Look at the Pacers and what it took for them to be an elite team in the east. Playoff experience can do wonders to a young squad the following year.

I think the signing of David West had more to do with the success than the experience. I don't doubt the experience was beneficial but West was the bigger reason, in my opinion.

They were one of the teams with considerable flexibility until Hibbert's contract extension kicked in this season. Remember they had the cap space to take on Barbo with no salary coming back last year.

There is no question in my mind this current team is a playoff team next year. If this team was together since the start of the year, they would be in the playoffs in my opinion. First round exits are hardly anything to brag about or get excited about.... well, maybe for a Raptors fan but hopefully you know what I mean.

Rudy Gay probably is a better talent than Paul George (if it weren't for stupid snubs, Gay would have two all-star nods [2011 & 2012]). BUT, going from this year, I would say George is the better player, so let me re-make my list.

I think Gay is a better scorer than George. George though i think is a better 'overall' player than Gay. Better rebounder, assist man and defender. Though i would have to say from what i've seen, Gay is very underrated defensively.

I think it's very close. I'd give the slight edge to George because he's an all-star this year.

I see reason for optimism beyond this season. I think Lowry is better than he is playing now. The Lowry that started the year (3 games is a small sample but also based on previous 2 seasons) is the Lowry I hope returns to Toronto soon. Then add in another quality big and the Raptors are looking good. If Gay can find his 3pt stroke (not to mention Fields), the Raptors are looking very good. His struggles shooting perplexes me because he does have such a nice stroke.

What do you think?

I think the most optimistic sign of the raptors improvement might be your waning hashtags . JV and TRoss got some ride last night....might raptor fans soon be free? And, dare I say it, with a few more strong performances, the final hashtag may fall? I say it as a joke but those are all good signs

When they showed the key matchup last night, between Gay and George, Rudy's numbers were only a tiny bit worse than George's in every category they showed. And this is what everyone agrees is Gay's worst season. So I think that's encouraging. Especially since everyone seems to be on the George bandwagon these days.